Warning: Spoiler Alerts Ahead!! Do not read unless you have already seen this.
If you watched any trailer or read any description about “A Quiet Place,” you probably had exceedingly high expectations like me. I mean, the horror film industry hasn’t seen such a creative plot line in what seems like forever. Pushing past the typical boundaries of paranormal occurrences or bloody violent scenes, “A Quiet Place” follows a family’s battle against a strange, never-seen-before, silent terror that continuously hunts them. (I don’t know about anyone else, but I haven’t heard of a thriller with such a creative plot since “Mama” in 2013.) To add on top of that, iconic actor John Krasinski stars in the film alongside his actual wife, Emily Blunt, as well as being one of the film’s directors.
There is no denying that the plot of “A Quiet Place” is bound to draw crowds of people into the theater, the trailers were bone-chilling and intense, and any production with an actor like John Krasinski, c’mon how could you ever miss out on that? I admit, I was one of those people who got way too excited about this film, but after watching it, there are certainly some (more like a lot of) things I would like to say to the producers—and not all of them are nice.
Okay first things first, we need to discuss why the beginning of the movie is so sad! I did not expect the adorable, innocent, little boy to get swept up by the evil monster. Talk about a way to set a depressing tone for the rest of the movie. I suppose it contributed to overall dramatic effect, as well as setting a background for the rest of the movie, but seriously, how sad! Maybe I was so surprised because I also wasn’t expecting the older sister to do the complete opposite of what her father told her to do. *insert major eye roll here* I knew that girl would be trouble from the start.
That leads me to the next thing that confused me: the monster. The whole movie is about these horrifying spider-man hybrid creatures that we hardly see until the end of the movie. Not saying that the first thing I wanna see when I sit down in the theater is a terrifying animal thing that destroys anything it hears—but some background on how they appeared or what they could potentially be would have been nice. Also, what do these creatures do? Just kill people and run away? Not to be morbid, but what even is the purpose in that? Some things about these monsters just seemed a little off to me.
Okay, I’d be amiss if I didn’t bring up the older sister/daughter. But seriously, did she really think it was a good idea to give her brother the toy that makes noise when their #1 goal is to never make noise? I guess kids don’t think very thoroughly, but that just seems like common sense to me. But that’s not even the end of it, she is a complete brat throughout the entire movie! Much of her attitude/disposition can be credited to her persistent guilt for causing her brother’s death, but she is constantly unhappy with her situation and her father, who just really wants to protect his family. I am glad the daughter found some kind of peace at the end of the film, but sheesh, did she actually think her father didn’t love her at all the entire time?
I cannot believe I have to even bring this next part up. Why oh why did John Krasinski’s character have to sacrifice himself to the monster?! I literally almost got up and left 10 minutes from the end of the movie because I was so upset. Being a huge fan of John Krasinski, watching that scene was so heartbreaking, mostly because of how unexpected it was. The entire family had survived the whole night so far, and that just had to happen! There are just so many things I could say about his character dying…I have so many questions… like WHY?
There are a couple other things that I wish I could ask the producers about. Like seriously, what are the chances that the mother went into labor right then? And what was that scene in the woods with the old man for? Also, how does the hole movies end?! AGH, the suspense near the end was unreal, and the movie just cut off! Please tell me I am not the only person ridiculously frustrated by this.
Now do not get me wrong, I actually really enjoyed the movie. It was creative, engaging, and had some great underlying messages about family and unconditional love. As far as the horror/thriller category goes, I wouldn’t call it amazing, although there were a few frightening parts that made me jump up in my chair. I wouldn’t rule “A Quiet Place” a complete bust. It was entertaining and kept you on the edge of your seat, which is, after all, what a thriller movie is intended to do! I am just a huge fan of nice, clean, happy endings. The fact that this movie didn’t have one left me kind of annoyed. Overall, I think this was a good thriller movie that kept you on your toes the entire time with minimal blood and gore and no silly ghost story. I would recommend this film to people as long as they don’t mind getting disappointed at some aspects. One thing I am definitely not disappointed in: John Krasinski with facial hair—so handsome!